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Imtiaz Dharker
Imtiaz Dharker (born 1954) is a Muslim Scottish poet, artist, and documentary film-maker. Life Dharker was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to Pakistani parents, and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland, where her family moved when she was less than a year old. She was married to Simon Powell, the founder of the organization Poetry Live, who passed away in October 2009 after surviving cancer for 11 years.http://www.poetrylive.net/competition.html Dharker divides her time between London, Wales, and Mumbai. She describes herself as a "Scottish Muslim Calvinist". Her daughter Ayesha Dharker, {whose father is [Dharker}, is a well known actress in international films, TV and stage.Arundhathi Subramaniam, [http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/poet/item/2720/27/Imtiaz-Dharker Imtiaz Dharker (India, 1954), Poetry International Rotterdam. Web, Jan. 5, 2014. As of 2010 she has written five books of poetry Purdah (1989), Postcards from God (1997), I speak for the Devil (2001), The Terrorist at my Table (2006) and Leaving Fingerprints (2009) (all self-illustrated). She is a prescribed poet on the British Assessment and Qualifications Alliance GCSE English syllabus. Her poems Blessing and This Room are included in the AQA Anthology, Different Cultures, Cluster 1 and 2 respectively. She was part of the judging panel for the 2008 Manchester Poetry Prize, with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke. For many she is seen as one of Britain's most inspirational contemporary poets. Film and Illustration Dharker is also a documentary film-maker and has scripted and directed over a hundred films and audio-visuals, centring on education, reproductive health and shelter for women and children. In 1980 she was awarded a Silver Lotus for a short film.Imtiaz Dharker's Official website An accomplished artist, she has had nine solo exhibitions of pen-and-ink drawings. Writing The main themes of her poetry include home, freedom, journeys, geographical and cultural displacement, communal conflict and gender politics. Purdah, and other poems deals with the various aspects of a Muslim woman's life where she experiences injustice, oppression and violence engineered through the culture of purdah. Publications *''Purdah, and other poems''. Oxford, UK, & Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1988. *''Postcards from God''. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Bloodaxe, 1997. *''I Speak for the Devil''. Tarset, Northumberland, UK: Bloodaxe, 2001; New Delhi: Penguin India, 2003. *''The Terrorist at my Table''. Tarset, Northumberland, UK: Bloodaxe, 2006. *''Leaving Fingerprints''. Tarset, Northumberland, UK: Bloodaxe, 2009. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the British Council.Imtiaz Dharker, Contemporary Writers, Literature, British Council. Web, Jan. 5, 2014. See also * List of British poets References External links ;Poems * Imtiaz Dharker (India, 1954) at Poetry International (7 poems). *Poems ;Audio / video *Imtiaz Dharker (b. 1954) at The Poetry Archive. *Imtiaz Dharker reading her poetry, 13 April 2010. British Library sound archive. *Imtiaz Dharker at YouTube ;About *Imtiaz Dharker at the British Council *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/dec/05/leaving-fingerprints-imtiaz-dharker-review review of Leaving Fingerprints] in The Guardian, 2009. Category:1954 births Category:Scottish people of Pakistani descent Category:People from Glasgow Category:People from Lahore Category:British poets Category:British women writers Category:Living people Category:Women poets Category:Pakistani documentary filmmakers Category:English-language poets from Pakistan Category:Pakistani expatriates in India Category:Scottish Muslims Category:21st-century poets Category:21st-century women writers Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Scottish poets Category:Scottish women writers